Improvement in combined rack and trough for feeding stock



.A. RALSTON.

Combined Rack and Trough for Feeding Stock. Nu-35,259. PatentedMay13,'1862.

v I WWW 'zswwm wuf gaw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREIV RALSTON, OF \VEST MIDDLETOXVN, PENN SYLVANIAQ IMPROVEMENT INCOMBINED RACK AND THOUGH FOR FEEDING STOCK.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,259, dated May 13,1862.

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANDREW R'ALS'lO N, of WV est Middletown, in thccountypf lVashington and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a CombinedRack and Trough for Feeding Sheep and other Stock; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon, like letters in the several figures indicatingthe same parts, and in which drawing.

Figure 1.is a perspective view of my improved rack and trough with itsstock-protector adjusted thereto; Fig. 2, a plan View of same with theprotector removed; Fig. 3, a transverse section of Fig. 1, with the rackand protector thrown back for the insertion of hay, cornstalks, or likefodder within the trough; and Fig. 4, a perspective view of theconvertible protector removed from the rack and in position as used forthe purposes of a shed or outhouse for sheep during stormy or inclementweather.

- The nature of my invention consists in so constructing a feed -troughfor stock, particularly sheep, that they may be allowed to 'rangethemselves around it while feeding thereout, and yet not be permitted tointerfere with each other. or jump into the trough, while the food, ifof coarse fodder, is properly retained in the trough by thesuperincumbent rack, and the sheep while being fed are protect-ed fromthe weather, a portion of said feed-trough being capable of removal andseparately used as a shed or outhouse for their protection.

' My improved feed-trough consists, principally, of a trough, A, a rack,H, and a convertible protector, L; and to enable others skilled in thearts to make and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe itsconstruction and operation.

To make a feed-trough, say, sixteen feet in length, I take threecross-pieces, a a C6, one and one-half inch thick, two and one-halfinches deep, and-two feet in length, placed parallel with each other,and at equal distances apart, as indicated in the drawings.

On these cross-pieces I nail a bottom board, 6, which should be teninches wide, so that the ends of the cross-pieces will extend out anequal distance on each side of the bottom board, as clearly shown inFig. 1. Close to each edge of the bottom board I nail uprights 0 ofinchstuff, wide enough to fill out to the ends of the cross-pieces, asshown. Theseuprights are intended to support the side boards, (I, andshould be so shaped as to throw the side board at a sufficient angle tomake the trough two feet wide at the top, the side boards being teninches wide. i The end boards, 8, should stand at about the same angleas the side boards, so that the trough may be easily cleaned out bysweeping from end to end with a broom or wisp of hay.

The rack part II should be made similar to a common ladder, and consistsof side pieces, f, two and one-half inches wide, with rungs g two feetlong and seven inches apart,-the

to allow uprights c c to be mortised into them, and to supportpartition-boards h andh, as shown, inorder to prevent sheep from gettinginto the trough or jumping over. These partition -boards h and It shouldbe about two feet high. The rack should be so hinged to the trough, asclearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, that when shut down there will be atleast half an inch of space, as at 'i, between the trough and rack, inorder that hay or other rough feed may not bind the joints of the hingese" and hinder the' rack from shutting down. For this purpose blocks isare secured ontop of the side pieces, 01, near their ends, as shown inFig. 1, and upon which blocks the pieces f rest when the rack is in theposition shown in last-named figure.

L, Fig. 4-, designates the separate use. of a convertible protector, itbeing detached from the rack and trough and utilized to screen stock,more especially sheep, during rainy and inclement weather. For thispurpose, after being removed from the rack, the tenon ends of itsuprights are firmly thrust into the ground, thus leaving the rack andtrough in the condition as shown in Fig. 2. This pro brace and fit uponthe longitudinal partitionboard It, as shown. These roof-supports Z aresecured to uprights c 0, having their lower ends tenoned, as clearlyshown in Fig. 3, and passing through mortises in the crosspieces orrungs g, and therein may be secured by wedges, as indicated, openings,as at 171, beii'ig' made in the tcnons for the insertion of the wedgesm. To the ends of the supports Z, as at F, longitudinal strips 71 aresecured, and over which a water-proof covering, q, is stretched andpermanently fastened, as illustrated in the figures.

It will thus be seen that when my improved feed-trough is in thecondition as in part shown in Fig. 1 sheep maybe fed and at the sametime protected from the weather, and that when desired the protector maybe removed and used separately, as indicated in Fig. 4:.

For inserting coarse feed, as hay or cornstalks, in the trough A, therack may he thrown back, as in Fig. 3; but for ground or crushed feedthis is not necessary. Vhen coarse feed is placed in the trough, therack may be turned down upon. it, and secured in such position by a hookand staple, as shown, the cross-pieces g and g in such case pressingupon the fodder and properly holding it in position to be fed to thesheep from between said cross-pieces, and so preserve the fodder frombeing too readily withdrawn from i the trough and wasted. The spacesbetween these cross-pieces are arranged so that but one animal will feedtherein at one time, and the covering (1 extending over the animal whilefeeding, and thus affording a protection from foul weather, disposes himto quietly occupy but one position at the trough,

so that the feed is economized by falling back into the trough insteadof the surplus taken in the months of the animals being wasted by theirusual constant change of position while in the act of feeding.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. S0 combining a rack and trough that the superincumbent pressure ofthe rack shall hold coarse fodder in place in the trough, in the mannerand for the purpose substantially as set forth.

2. A removable protector, L, adapted to be used upon the rack and troughor separate therefrom, in the manner and for the purpose substantiallyas set forth.

In combination with the rack H, having partitions h h, the removableweather-protector L, substantially in the manner and for the purpose setforth.

ANDREV I RALSTON.

\Vitnesses:

EDWIN S. JACOB, D. C. LAWRENCE.

